Archive for the ‘Career’ Tag

Unemployment & the £1Billion saving

Posted March 18, 2010
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As reported by many sources this morning – experts believe Alistair Darling could be in line to receive a £1 billion dividend from lower than expected unemployment figures in time for next week’s Budget.

Sounds like good news right?

In truth I’m not so sure. Why? Here are the simple facts:

  • The number of people claiming unemployment benefit had fallen at the fastest pace in 13 years last month. Alongside this unemployment also dipped for the third month in a row.  +VE
  • The number of long-term unemployed — those out of work for a year or more — jumped by 61,000, or nearly 10 per cent, in the three months to January. -VE
  • Unemployment dropped to 2.45 million in the three months to January, according to the ONS. +VE
  • The rate of employment, measuring the number of people in work, also fell to a 13-year low of 72.2 per cent. The number of people in work dropped by 54,000 to 38.8 million in the three months to January. –VE
  • The number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance in February dropped from 1.63 million in October last year to approx. 1.58 million people. +VE
  • The number of people dropping out of the jobs market altogether has risen sharply. Indeed “economically inactive” people — those who cannot work because they are studying, sick or looking after children — climbed by nearly 150,000 to a record 8.1 million in the three months to January*1. –VE
  • Independent forecasts that the jobless total will now peak at a lower level than expected (hence the saving accruing to Mr Darling due to decrease benefit payments). +VE
  • More than one in four people in Britain of working age is now either unemployed or not looking for work. -VE

Summary:

There are definitely some good positives, but also enough offsets (or warning signs) that it would be premature to say we’re out of the woods in terms of jobs. In truth whilst a lot of us are feeling more positive*2 not even the most aggressive economist will be able to make that call (with any degree of confidence) until such time that we see true meaningful economic growth.

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*1 figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS)

*2 Warning: an overly positive outlook is a common character trait of start-up employee.

Unemployment & the (Female Part Time) White Knight.

Posted January 21, 2010
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Unemployment unexpectedly fell for the first time in 18 months in November 09, with the Office for National Statistics stating that the broadest measure* of unemployment fell by 7,000 to 2.458 million, leaving the jobless rate at 7.8%. Good news right?

Largely yes, although it must be said the headline figures mask a number of slightly worrying trends, chiefly:

  • The number of people in the labour force who are neither working nor looking for work, with the inactivity total rising above 8 million for the first time since records began in 1971.
  • Full-time employment fell by 113,000 to 21.2 million, while part-time employment did not rise fast enough to compensate, increasing by 99,000 to 7.7 million. These figures are following the trend of women finding part-time jobs while men, predominantly, are losing full-time ones.
  • Whilst the under-24s joblessness rate fell by 16,000 to 927,000, this still left a fifth of young people out of work.
  • The long term unemployed (i.e. the number of people out of work for more than a year) jumped 29,000 on the quarter to 631,000, the highest level since late 1997.
  • The ONS reported that wage growth slowed to the lowest on record at just 1.1% year-on-year (excluding volatile bonus payments in the three months to November).

So, what does all this mean?

  1. We’re clearly not out of the woods yet.
  2. The next set of figures will be extremely revealing as we could reasonably expect that some of the part time jobs created in the lead-up to Christmas will have been cut. The question will then become whether we will have seen sufficient growth (or reduced decreases) in full time roles to offset this.
  3. The young and the regional worker is still extremely vulnerable.
  4. The lack of wage growth (and the potential for reduced household incomes where part time workers are replacing full time) could affect consumer spending this year – which could in turn lead to further employment pressures.

Encouraging start to the year definitely! Green shoots perhaps to early to say, but let’s hope.

Regards,

Zoe

* The narrower measure of people claiming unemployment benefits also dropped by more than expected in December, falling by 15,200 to 1.61 million, the biggest drop since early 2007.

The curious case of Gareth Southgate

Posted November 30, 2009
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Whilst I’m not an avid football fan, as a recruiter I do enjoy watching the managerial merry go round (and sadly know more about who’s the manager at a particular club than I do about the game itself).

Watching this seasons hiring’s & firing’s however one in particular stood out: Gareth Southgate at Middlesbrough. Why? Two reasons:

  1. The timing seemed amiss. That is – I would have understood when on route to relegation, or indeed in the closed season having been relegated. However to do it after a third of a season with the team one point of the top of the table seemed a little strange.
  2. Off the pitch Southgate helped to bring some order to the financial chaos of a club in £85m debt by delivering £12m profit (from 3 ½ years of transfers) & a £7m saving on the wage bill last season (whilst painstakingly turning an ageing team into one with an average age of 22).

What can aspiring managers (regardless of industry) learn from the unfortunate Mr Southgate. A few things stand out:

-      If you’re made responsible for something do what you can to control the key decisions: Given the importance of playing staff in football hiring and firing decisions would are critical. And yet Southgate clearly didn’t have 100% control of these areas during his time in charge, as evidenced by the sale of the clubs most important defender, Robert Huth (5 games into the season to make another down payment against the financial sins of the past) or by the his chairman’s decision to by Alfonso Alves for £12m.

-      Build strategic alliances: The reason quoted for Southgate’s sacking in some circles was the fact he was not universally admired / loved by the teams fans. Whilst we’re not saying that a manager should seek universal admiration determining the key allies you need to be successful is critical. Whilst Southgate seemed to inherently understand this, hence the strong relationship he had with his chairman, he seem to discount some key stakeholders i.e. most notably the fans & the media. Indeed after the home defeat by Leicester some fans booed him, and whilst he didn’t like it, neither was he bothered by it.

-      Communicate, Communicate, Communicate: Should the fans have been more aware of the restrictions Southgate was facing? Debatable. Should Southgate have been surprised by the news of his sacking? No. Should everyone & anyone associated with the club know the strategy for promotion (i.e. how they would achieve the goal of their season)? Definitely. As many a politician or CEO will testify the key to successful management, regardless of field, is communication. Perhaps Southgate’s greatest failing therefore was his inability to effectively communicate his vision, emotion, and desire to the key stakeholders of the organisation.

Clearly the primary goal of a football club is to win games. Unfortunately however whilst Borough did brilliantly off the pitch under Southgate’s management, as relegation from the premier league highlighted, on the pitch there simply weren’t enough wins. This is not to say that Southgate’s goal was not to win games, but rather that due to failings across the three points highlighted above Southgate was neither able to ensure enough victories in the short term nor buy sufficient time (off the key stake holders) to change this.

Time to go public?

Posted August 28, 2009
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I must admit I wasn’t surprised to read this week that a growing number of highly paid workers are swapping stressful company jobs for careers in the more secure public sector amid fears of redundancy. The trend – an obvious reversal on the boom years – appears to be a direct result of uncertainty surrounding the recession.

To summarise the highlights of the Capturing Commercial Talent Survey commissioned by Hays (a Zookel client):

  • 63% of public sector employers have noticed an increase in applications from the private sector.
  • 50% of public sector organisations said they had skill shortages they needed to address in order to deliver high quality services.
  • 80% of those said they would be best filled by a private sector worker.
  • The NHS has noticed the most extreme change, with the number of applications for jobs having more than doubled since January from 40,000 to over 100,000 (with roughly the same number of vacancies).
  • Some workers have been prepared to take pay cuts of up to 60% to guarantee themselves work through the next few years.

Whilst perceived job security remains the most important factor in employees decision to ‘jump the fence’, there were also a number of other benefits quoted including:

  • The potential for shorter working hours.
  • A greater work-life balance including part-time hours and the ability to work from home.
  • Excellent benefits packages.
  • The chance to make a positive difference to society.

Short term sacrifice for long term gain, work-life balance, or straight forward career change no matter the reason the questions remain: will the fence jumpers stay put or want back to the more glamorous jobs once the recession ends? and: whilst public sector employers are more than happy to take on those with private experience, will it work in reverse?

Food for though if nothing else. As always good luck on the job hunt!

Zoe & Team Zookel

Source for stats: Evening Standard Article

What can we learn from Glasto???

Posted July 26, 2009
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There is something unique about Glastonbury; it has an aura and reputation unlike any of the other festivals on offer over the summer period. Whilst music fans scramble to get tickets, bands are also busy trying to make sure they are on the lineup for Britain’s most famous live music event.

And when a group of the guys here made the trek to Glasto this year it made me think – are the comparisons between a band getting on the lineup & a candidate getting an interview for a new gig (pardon the pun). Here’s what I’ve come up with:

Bands Getting on the line up Candidates getting an interview
Must first decide whether Glastonbury is the right Festival for them, i.e. given the festival genre, their experience and their fans will it be a good fit. Must first decide whether a Company is the right one for them, i.e. given the company culture, their experience and their career goals will it be a good fit.
Must fight for the attention of the promoters. Must vie for the attention of employers’.
Realise that getting booked is just the start of the hard work! Realise that getting an interview is just the start of the hard work!
Need to prepare – before stepping on stage Bands need to prepare an entertaining set, select the right songs to play, and practice, practice, practice to make sure they’re ready to perform. Need to prepare – before stepping into the interview Candidates need to prepare their career story, think about the questions they have, and practice, practice, practice to make sure they’re ready to answer the tough questions.
Should understand that playing at a festival they’re effectively competing for audience with the other bands that are also playing. Delivering a polished performance on stage is therefore the bare minimum. Should understand that when interviewing they’re effectively competing with other candidates that are also being interviewed. Delivering a polished performance in the interview is therefore the bare minimum.
Festivals provide bands with the perfect opportunity to promote their music, get noticed and kick start their careers. Interviews provide candidates with the perfect opportunity to promote their skills/ experience, get noticed and kick start their careers.

So, who knew being in a band and the job hunt were so similar?

I guess there’s just enough space left for the blatant plug – if you’re looking for a way to stand out from the crowd and drive your career forward, log on to Zookel. Think of it as the Glastonbury of job sites – the best place to get noticed!

Zoe & Team Zookel